Liveblog: Apple’s Q2 2013 earnings call at 5pm EDT today

It has been an unusually quiet quarter for Apple. What's going on in Cupertino?

Don't look now, but it's already time for Apple's second quarter earnings. The earnings will be released just before 2pm PDT (5pm EDT) on Tuesday, April 23 and the company's conference call will take place soon thereafter.

It has been a quiet quarter for Apple. While the first quarter earnings call was filled with discussion about the hoppin' holiday season, this quarter has mostly been about Apple catching up on iMac demand and not much else—at least from an official, company perspective. There have been plenty of rumors about the next-gen iPhone (expected to launch this summer or fall) and the possibility of an April media event, though Apple has not made a peep on those fronts just yet.

There have also been some rumors circulating about whether the current iPhones and iPads are selling as well as Apple hoped. That's undoubtedly why this quarterly call will be closely watched by both Apple followers and investors alike. Will Apple give us any hints on what to look for as we head into the June quarter, which will include the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC)?

As always, Ars will be liveblogging the Q2 call as it happens on Tuesday, so come back to this page (or the page linked in the big orange bar below) at 2pm PDT tomorrow to participate in the comments. (See when the liveblog starts in your timezone.)

62 Reader Comments

I'm guessing Apple stock to take a dive, as they don't have a lot of new products to announce. Their Chinese sales have been doing well, but I'm not sure that's enough to hit the investors' ridiculous expectations.

Yes. Even with Steve alive Apple would not be able to come up with exciting new products in the tempo of the good years. Things would have quieted down anyway, and the stock would have gone down with that. The overhype is gone now and the stock value has returned to normal.

Why is it that Apple's earnings calls get routinely liveblogged here and all over the 'net? No other company seems to attract this sort of media attention. Is there something different about they way they announce their finances?

i had thought of posting similar for a joke but figured we were all tired of hearing it.

Why is it that Apple's earnings calls get routinely liveblogged here and all over the 'net? No other company seems to attract this sort of media attention. Is there something different about they way they announce their finances?

I'm not Apple fan, but it is still the biggest tech company.

I'm interested in their Q2 results, but I will just read an article about it. There are better things to do than reading this live blog.

Why is it that Apple's earnings calls get routinely liveblogged here and all over the 'net? No other company seems to attract this sort of media attention. Is there something different about they way they announce their finances?

Why is it that Apple's earnings calls get routinely liveblogged here and all over the 'net? No other company seems to attract this sort of media attention. Is there something different about they way they announce their finances?

I'm not Apple fan, but it is still the biggest tech company.

I'm interested in their Q2 results, but I will just read an article about it. There are better things to do than reading this live blog.

Going by this, doesn't that depend on how you measure it? Samsung are pretty damn big too, and while Google isn't as big they have a giant impact on everything. So I do think it is a bit unfair.

EDIT: So others do have liveblogs, didn't know that. Shows how good my brain is.

Why is it that Apple's earnings calls get routinely liveblogged here and all over the 'net? No other company seems to attract this sort of media attention. Is there something different about they way they announce their finances?

I'm not Apple fan, but it is still the biggest tech company.

I'm interested in their Q2 results, but I will just read an article about it. There are better things to do than reading this live blog.

Going by this, doesn't that depend on how you measure it? Samsung are pretty damn big too, and while Google isn't as big they have a giant impact on everything. So I do think it is a bit unfair.

EDIT: So others do have liveblogs, didn't know that. Shows how good my brain is.

Well ok, but I guess Ars wouldn't be doing that if there was no demand for such a blogs. By biggest I mean market capitalization. This is usually how journalists like to refer to Apple and previously MS etc. MS is still very often called biggest software company, Google is search giant etc.

That is pretty much it! The company is one of the few making a lot of PROFITS (not just revenue) but some armchair analyst/CEO somewhere (incapable to know the difference between Adobe Flash and flash memory) feels like Apple should try to sell usb dongles 'cause there seems to be like a gazillion sold every year!!!!

This is the problem with capitalism and the stock market. Everyone expects you to make more money year over year, and any slide is seen as a poor showing, with analysts quick to pile on. "Living within your means" seems a foreign concept to the stock investor, because all they care about is money. If you aren't rising or falling quickly you're worthless to them, and at no point do they care about the actual health of your business or the idea you might build a specific audience and then just stay within that audience. If you're not shifting one or another, they'll scream at the top of the mountain until your stock starts moving one way or the other.

You're most assuredly not the only one waiting for those new Mac Pros -- but if you're anticipating such an announcement at an earnings statement, I think you're likely to be disappointed. Apple rarely mixes business (financial announcements) with pleasure (latest "new toy!" announcements).

Also, expect the Mac Pro announcement to be preceded by a press invitation... which will also get it's own collection of articles from various sources.

(And yes, I know that they often mention the financial results prior to new product announcements... but my point is that it doesn't work the other way around... they're unlikely to include a previously unrevealed product announcement during their official earnings statement.)

I find it strange that people are interested enough in quarterly earnings calls for it to be reported here as a Live Blog. Unless you are a stock holder who cares?The exception might be companies that are struggling such as AMD so people might want to know if they are still viable. It’s news but worth a live blog!

Why is it that Apple's earnings calls get routinely liveblogged here and all over the 'net?

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Why does Ars feel the need to live blog Apple earnings calls?

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I find it strange that people are interested enough in quarterly earnings calls for it to be reported here as a Live Blog.

Ars editors, I beseech thee once again to please post hit counters on stories so that people can see the true popularity of topics that they're personally not interested in. 3 out of 26 posts along these lines (not counting the responses to them) so far is a pretty bad signal-to-noise ratio.

If Apple slashed its greedy 30% overhead for developers (to say 20%), Mac and iOS devs might again help row the Apple boat more enthusiastically.

Lack of developers is not exactly Apple's problem.

(If I ran Apple, I'd move to some sort of sliding scale where they took a lower percentage of more expensive apps, as that more accurately reflects their costs and also helps with the problem that few higher-priced products are available for iOS, but I don't run Apple and it's hard to claim that the current system isn't working out for them.)

I'm guessing Apple stock to take a dive, as they don't have a lot of new products to announce. Their Chinese sales have been doing well, but I'm not sure that's enough to hit the investors' ridiculous expectations.

Analysts have already taken into account expected decline in revenue (despite record sales still), which is already reflected in the share price.

If anything, it won't be as bad as the Cook haters are pushing, and the price will probably rise overnight. Given it's up already over $6, all the downsides have already been baked in.

Analysts have already taken into account expected decline in revenue (despite record sales still), which is already reflected in the share price.

Revenue, sales, profit… these figures are immaterial these days.

What matters is that Apple has a large market cap and lots of outstanding shares, and those share prices can be made to dance in whatever direction the analysts and day-traders desire. No one wants to play at a casino where the stakes are too small.

Analysts have already taken into account expected decline in revenue (despite record sales still), which is already reflected in the share price.

Revenue, sales, profit… these figures are immaterial these days.

What matters is that Apple has a large market cap and lots of outstanding shares, and those share prices can be made to dance in whatever direction the analysts and day-traders desire. No one wants to play at a casino where the stakes are too small.

The vast majority of Apple's shareholders are institutional investors, not day traders. But don't let the facts get in the way of hyperbole, or voting down comments.

The vast majority of Apple's shareholders are institutional investors, not day traders.

Well, the vast majority of Apple shareholders have been taken for a ride, then. There is absolutely no rational explination for what has happened to the share price over the past six months other than analyst and hedge fund manipulation.

Seriously, record figures, quarter after quarter, yet the price drops when false rumors come out. This isn't a random walk - it's a frigging break dance. I would not be surprised to see another 10-20 point drop before tomorrow's bell.

The vast majority of Apple's shareholders are institutional investors, not day traders.

There is absolutely no rational explination for what has happened to the share price over the past six months other than analyst and hedge fund manipulation.

There's this:

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Make no mistake, the people who want Tim Cook’s head on a spike are not friends of Apple.

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For the record, Apple is still trading higher today that it was when Cook replaced Steve Jobs. The forces that drove the stock up to over $700 and then down to below $390 seem to me to have more to do with a dysfunctional securities market than anything Cook has done as CEO.

Why is it that Apple's earnings calls get routinely liveblogged here and all over the 'net? No other company seems to attract this sort of media attention. Is there something different about they way they announce their finances?

Ars is an Apple heavy web site. Sure, other companies have had liveblogs on Ars, but not like Apple who's each and every quarter is liveblogged.

That's not really true. Ars is a news site covering the tech industry. Apple is a media darling for every site but if you actually pay attention you'll notice that Ars covers all of the big players pretty evenly. Look at all the recent Articles on MS or Google... they're just as prevalent as the fruity company.

Why is it that Apple's earnings calls get routinely liveblogged here and all over the 'net? No other company seems to attract this sort of media attention. Is there something different about they way they announce their finances?

Could you just do a frigging search on Ars first? They have already answered this question many times over. People actually read the Apple live blogs. People barely read the other company's live blogs. Part of it is because the other companies fart out everything the moment the thought balloon for their latest whim pops into their heads so you don't have to bother with any conference calls, etc. Apple, on the other hand, tell you nothing, nada, zip except for in these things. In other words, they actually say something interesting in them.

This is the problem with capitalism and the stock market. Everyone expects you to make more money year over year, and any slide is seen as a poor showing, with analysts quick to pile on. "Living within your means" seems a foreign concept to the stock investor, because all they care about is money. If you aren't rising or falling quickly you're worthless to them, and at no point do they care about the actual health of your business or the idea you might build a specific audience and then just stay within that audience. If you're not shifting one or another, they'll scream at the top of the mountain until your stock starts moving one way or the other.